Will 2017 be the year we finally get our mitts on The Winds of Winter? At this point, even Bran Stark’s third eye couldn’t see if the answer is “hell yes!” or “keep waiting.” But fret not, avid sci-fi and fantasy readers. The year still holds plenty of promise, as demonstrated by our gargantuan list of most-anticipated books.
(Keep in mind that publication dates are always subject to change, even for authors whose names aren’t George R.R. Martin.)
January
We already created a full list for January, which is stuffed with tempting entries — including a short story collection from the late Terry Pratchett, featuring works dating back to his teen years. Start your new collection with these picks, some of which are already available in stores.
February
Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
The award-winning author (American Gods, Coraline, Neverwhere, Sandman) offers his interpretations of the classic Norse myths, weaving a novelistic tale about the adventures of Thor, Loki, Odin and others in their realm. (February 7)
The Stars Are Legion by Kameron Hurley
The acclaimed author of God’s War and The Mirror Empire returns with a standalone space opera about a woman who awakes with no memory amid a war between world-ships travelling the darkest regions of the universe. In this desperate setting, she realises she may hold the key to salvation — but at what cost? (February 7)
Gilded Cage by Vic James
This debut novel (and the first in a planned series) is set in an alternate modern-day England that’s ruled by aristocrats whose wealth is matched only by their magical powers. But a brother and sister — mere commoners, toiling in separate but equally oppressive circumstances — are poised to topple the status quo. (February 14)
In Calabria by Peter S. Beagle
The author of The Last Unicorn has penned a new tale focusing on his trademark subject. It’s a fable about an Italian farmer whose sleepy life is turned upside down when a certain magical creature appears on his land. (February 14)
Star Wars Aftermath: Empire’s End by Chuck Wendig
The trilogy that kicked off with Star Wars: Aftermath concludes, further illuminating the years and events that transpired between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. It takes place mostly on Jakku. (February 21)
A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab
The final book in Schwab’s Shades of Magic fantasy trilogy decides the fate of the heroes and their foes in the magical Maresh Empire. (February 21)
March
Chalk by Paul Cornell
The latest from the versatile writer of TV, comics, short stories and novels (Doctor Who, Wolverine, Batman & Robin, Witches of Lychford) is about a schoolboy in Thatcher’s England who’s tormented by bullies until an ancient power is awakens within him. (March 21)
The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi
The new novel from the prolific author (Old Man’s War, The Last Colony, Redshirts) imagines life after the discovery of “the Flow”, a wormhole that allows speedy transport between far-flung planets. When it’s discovered that the Flow is fluid, threatening the stability of the new ruling “Interdependency”, three people are tasked with doing whatever they can to save humanity. (March 21)
Infinity Engine by Neal Asher
Asher follows War Factory by continuing the story of elusive rogue AI Penny Royal — whose human, alien and machine-based pursuers now include another dangerous AI. No matter what, a deadly showdown is imminent. (March 21)
New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson
The latest from the noted author of the Mars trilogy focuses on the inhabitants of a New York City skyscraper. But the future version of the Big Apple is barely recognisable from today; rising tides have transformed the metropolis into a water-bound city where each building is its own island. (March 21)
Luna: Wolf Moon by Ian McDonald
The second book in McDonald’s Luna series finds the Moon, now controlled by corporations run by warring families, in political turmoil. One of the families has fallen, its heirs taken in by rivals — except for the most rebellious son, who escapes to Earth to recruit new allies. (March 28)
April
Winter Tide by Ruthanna Emrys
This Lovecraft-inspired tale imagines that the Cold War-era US government has rounded up all the inhabitants of Innsmouth, with devastating results. Despite the tragedy, one survivor is roped into helping the FBI recover magical secrets stolen from Miskatonic University. (April 4)
Proof of Concept by Gwyneth Jones
With Earth no longer able to sustain human life, thanks to overcrowding and climate change, scientists ramp up their efforts to enable rapid relocation to Earth-like exoplanets. A woman with an AI implanted in her brain joins the team, but the AI knows something crucial about the future. Will it be able to overcome its own programming and warn her in time? (April 11)
Thrawn by Timothy Zahn
This Star Wars volume aims to answer one question: How did Grand Admiral Thrawn rise to such villainous heights? (April 11)
Off Rock by Kieran Shea
Five awesome and entertaining words to describe this one: “Bank heist set in space.” Yes, please. (April 18)
Skullsworn by Brian Staveley
This new standalone set in the author’s Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne universe follows a priestess who has one goal: To prove her devotion to the God of Death. To do so, she’ll need to put a lifetime of training to use, killing 10 people in 10 days in very specific ways. (April 25)
Walkaway by Cory Doctorow
Disaffected future dwellers — living in a time when food, clothing and shelter can be easily printed off a computer — join forces to explore life outside the system. When they discover a way to cheat death, those who control the world take an extreme interest in those who’ve chosen to go underground. (April 25)
May
Forever On: A Novel of Silicon Valley by Rob Reid
The world has become completely addicted to a new social network, an entity which soon knows everything about everybody in real time. What could possibly go wrong? Read an excerpt from Reid’s new satire here. (May 2)
Beren and Lúthien by J.R.R. Tolkien
Editor Christopher Tolkien draws out a key love story from his father’s The Silmarillion, exploring how the tale changed over the years by placing it within different contexts as it evolved. The book features artwork by Alan Lee, who also illustrated The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit and shared a Best Art Direction Oscar for Return of the King. (May 4)
Wicked Wonders by Ellen Klages
The author of The Green Glass Sea presents her second short-story collection of “lyrical stories with vintage flair” (topics include life on Mars and gambling with fairies), with an introduction by Karen Joy Fowler. (May 16)
Dragon Teeth by Michael Crichton
Yes… the same Crichton who wrote Jurassic Park, Sphere and Westworld, and died in 2008. This “recently discovered” novel is based on the real-life rivalry between palaeontologists Cope and Marsh, who raced to one-up each other by any means necessary while hunting dinosaur fossils in the Wild West. (May 23)
Radiate by C.A. Higgins
The author continues her Lightless series with the story of Ananke, a military spacecraft-turned-sentient AI who’s searching for her human “father”, the troubled programmer who helped create her. (May 23)
June
The Refrigerator Monologues by Catherynne M. Valente
Female superheroes, and wives and girlfriends of superheroes — forever being kidnapped by villains, or simply being shoved into the background until the plot requires their presence — finally raise their voices in this collection of linked stories. (June 6)
Raven Stratagem by Yoon Ha Lee
The author follows up Ninefox Gambit with the further adventures of Captain Kel Cheris, possessed by a centuries-old general who is both brilliant and psychotic, and is wreaking havoc on both the rebellion in their midst and an impending enemy invasion. (June 13)
Indigo by Charlaine Harris, Christopher Golden, Kelley Armstrong, Jonathan Maberry, Kat Richardson, Seanan McGuire, Tim Lebbon, Cherie Priest, James Moore and Mark Morris
A collaborative work about an NYC woman who’s an investigative reporter by day, and a superpowered vigilante by night. Both parts of her have a single focus: Nabbing a cult that’s been ruthlessly murdering children. But what role does her own mysterious past play in this vigilante saga? (June 20)
The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss
Women from horror and sci-fi literary classics — including Mary Jekyll, Justine Frankenstein and Beatrice Rappaccini — come together to solve a murder mystery, while investigating their own murky pasts. Sherlock Holmes also makes a cameo. (June 20)
The Witchwood Crown by Tad Williams
Not a lot of advanced info on this one, other than that it’s the start of a new cycle in Williams’ epic fantasy saga, to be called Last King of Osten Ard. (June 27)
July
Dichronauts by Greg Egan
In a world where a constantly-shifting habitable zone means cities must be constantly re-mapped, a surveyor (whose best friend is the leech-like creature that lives in his brain and helps him navigate) makes an alarming discovery at the edge of civilisation. (July 4)
An Oath of Dogs by Wendy Wagner
A woman starts a new job just before her boss is murdered, and she can’t shake the feeling her new company is behind the crime. Making matters even more unsettling, this all takes place on a strange planet where a long-ago disaster has morphed into a corporate cover-up that’s just waiting to be discovered. (July 4)
Sungrazer by Jay Posey
Earth and Mars are locked in a tense Cold War, with terrifying weapons poised for deployment on both sides. A team called the Outriders are on standby to track down any that go missing — but their latest search mission, which aligns them with a Martian intelligence officer who might not be exactly trustworthy, is their most dangerous yet. (July 4)
At the Table of Wolves by Kay Kenyon
This is billed as “Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy meets X-Men“, which definitely sounds intriguing. It’s set in 1936 and is about a super-powered woman who goes undercover in Nazi Germany to protect England from invasion. (July 11)
The Delirium Brief by Charles Stross
Stross’ eighth in his Laundry Files series picks up with Bob Howard, an operative in a top-secret British government agency that protects the world from supernatural and alien terrors. Well, make that formerly top secret — and with sudden publicity comes a whole new rash of horrors for Bob and his colleagues, as well as England as a whole. (July 11)
First Watch by Dale Lucas
This is a classic buddy-cop tale about reluctant partners thrown together to investigate a missing person. Classic, except one’s a human and one’s a dwarf, and their suspects and sources run the magical gamut from shady mages to drug-pushing orcs. (July 11)
The Rift by Nina Allen
A woman goes missing as a teen and returns 20 years later, claiming she’s spent the intervening time on another planet. Her sister is thrilled with her sudden return — but is understandably unsure about whether or not she should believe those tales of intergalactic travel. (July 11)
Minecraft: The Island by Max Brooks
The author of World War Z is now the author of the first official Minecraft novel, described as being a survival tale in the vein of Robinson Crusoe. (July 18)
Strange Practice by Vivian Shaw
Dr Greta Helsing, doctor to the undead, tends to her unusual patients (ghosts, mummies and so on) while uncovering a murder mystery that threatens both London’s living and undead populations. (July 25)
Talon of God by Wesley Snipes and Ray Norman
Yes. Blade is now an author. (July 25)
August
A Man of Shadows by Jeff Noon
A down-on-his-luck private eye is hired to find a teenage runaway who may have a strange connection to a serial killer who’s prowling the streets. This would be a very dark and noirish tale, except it takes place in a city where night never falls. (August 1)
Monster Hunter: Siege by Larry Correia
Correia’s popular horror-fantasy series rolls on with a tale about “the single biggest operation in Monster Hunter International’s history”. (August 1)
Terminal Alliance by Jim C. Hines
The Hugo winner launches a humorous new series about the janitors of the post-apocalypse — proof that there’s one job that will always need doing, even if the world ends. (August 1)
The Stone Sky by NK Jemisin
With this novel that arrives with the decisive tagline “THIS IS THE WAY THE WORLD ENDS… FOR THE LAST TIME,” Jemisin wraps up her post-apocalyptic, Hugo-winning Broken Earth trilogy. (August 15)
September
Reincarnation Blues by Michael Poore
A man whose true love is Death herself is born over and over so that he can be with her again. (September 12)
Autonomous by Annalee Newitz
Newitz’s first novel is about, in her words, “pirates, robots, love, and property”. (September 19)
October
The Tiger’s Daughter by K. Arsenault Rivera
In a crumbling kingdom, two goddess-warriors join forces to save their people from an invasion of suddenly powerful demons. (October 3)
Barbary Station by R.E. Stearns
Unable to find legitimate work in their war-torn solar system, a pair of engineers decide to join up with a ragtag group of space pirates — but they will need to take down a sinister AI to earn their place with the crew. (October 31)